Van Hollen traveled to El Salvador on Wednesday, where he said his request to speak with Abrego Garcia via phone was denied. On Thursday, he said his car was stopped upon trying to enter the prison to check on Abrego Garcia’s health.
THE FULL STORY OF KILMAR ABREGO GARCIA, THE UNLAWFULLY DEPORTED ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT
“Today’s purpose was just to see what his health condition is,” Van Hollen said.
In recent days, other U.S. officials, including Rep. Riley Moore (R-WV) and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, have been granted access to the prison.
Abrego Garcia is a Salvadoran citizen who illegally came into the United States when he was a teenager. He lived and worked in Maryland for around 15 years before he was deported in March to a mega-prison in El Salvador.
In October 2019, Abrego Garcia was ordered to be deported by a judge, but he convinced the judge that his life would be endangered if he returned to El Salvador. Abrego Garcia was then granted a “withholding order,” which prohibited the government from sending him to El Salvador.
The White House and top officials in the Trump administration have said Abrego Garcia was in the MS-13 gang, citing a police report that suggested he was at least affiliated with the group after he was arrested with known gang members. His status as a member has not been confirmed.
The Supreme Court ordered the Trump administration to “facilitate” the return of Abrego Garcia, but the administration has disputed the definition of the order.
Van Hollen, who was compelled to visit the country, described Abrego Garcia as having been “illegally abducted.”
“The goal of this mission is to let the Trump administration … to let the government of El Salvador know that we are going to keep fighting to bring Abrego Garcia home until he returns to his family,” Van Hollen said at the airport on Wednesday. “We are going to keep fighting because this is a miscarriage of justice.”
SUPREME COURT ORDERS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TO RETURN MISTAKENLY DEPORTED MAN FROM EL SALVADOR
Following Van Hollen’s visit, Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) refused other House Democrats’ requests for a CODEL to El Salvador.
“If Democrats care so much about defending this individual, they can use their own personal credit cards — not taxpayers’ money — to virtue-signal to their radical base,” Green said.
